My Destiny
by kingdomkayla07
Summary: Zuko finally finds his own destiny.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This chapter takes place in a hospital. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Fire Lady Ursa's POV:

_My baby boy has just been born. There's not a word in this world to describe the joy I feel as I look into his little red eyes. Sure he may be crying, but he still looks like a little angel._

I see Ozai peering in from the window. _He says he doesn't like the idea of being in the same room where I have my child; he said the same thing when I had Azula. Sometimes I really question why I married him in the first place. Well, he used to be such a fun, loving man, but he was always hungry for power; that's what made him into the man he is today._

Ozai finally works up the nerve and comes in as I cradle my bundle of happiness in my arms. " What is it?" he asks staring down at us.

_How dare him call our son an 'it', but that's just something I would expect from him. It seems as though he is a robot at times with no feelings or emotions at all, but at other times he can be the such a loving man; of course those times are very rare. _

" He's a boy." I reply with a hint of disgust in my voice at his words. Without a warning, he scoops up my son from my arms with a bit of enthusiasm in his face. Once he flips him over, he stares coldly at our son, quickly returning him to me.

_What is his problem?_

" I can already tell he's going to be a failure. At least we'll have one successful ruler in our family." he states as if it is of casual nature. I stare angrily up at him, but I do not dare talk back to him; I've already learned my lesson about that. I still have my scar on the left side of my head. Without another word, Ozai walks away and out the door; it is probably best if he isn't around right now anyway.

_I'm begginning to think it was a mistake to have kids by him; what kind of father has he turned out to be. All he cares about is power and respect, and that's all he teaches Azula. Even if she is only two I know it will eventually catch on, and he will do the same to our son as well. Why doesn't he understand our children need love and care? I know he has a heart and feelings, if he would just use them._

One of my nurses taps me on my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts. " Uh, Fire Lady, what would you like to name the baby?" I rack my brain for ideas as if I hadn't known for nine months that I was going to have this baby.

_Uh, Taewon, Riku, Doshi, Zuko... that's it!_

I look at the nurse and smile with the name in my head. " I would like to name him Zuko." She smiles back at me. " That's a lovely name." she replies, writing the name on a piece of paper.

_Yes, a lovely name that is._

A few seconds later she speaks again. " I'm sorry to seperate you from your son, but we have to check to see if he's healthy." I nod and hand her Zuko. She takes him into another room, the other nurses following her like they were a bunch of baby ducks following their mother.

_I hope Zuko is healthy; that would mean the world to me. But I know Ozai could care less, seeing as how he already labeled my son as pathetic. Zuko will not be pathetic; in fact I just know he'll grow up to be someone great one day._

A few minutes later the head nurse comes back in with Zuko in her arms. He has stopped crying. _That's good._ " Well, Zuko seems to be fine, so we'll let you have some alone time with your son, or if you would just like to relax. I know how tired you must be."

_She isn't lying, that was some work and I'm awfully tired, but completely worth it._

" I'd like him to stay with me." " As you wish, Fire Lady." After saying that she hands me back my son and heads out the room. Zuko looks up at me and the corners of his mouth turn up into a little smile. I can't help but smile back.

_I couldn't ask for anything better in the world._


	2. Weakness

A/N: Okay so here's chap.2. It's filled with drama and sadness, but I think you'll be able to handle it. Read and review please.

"Focus young Zuko." General Iroh commands his nephew, hoping he will catch on soon enough. The 4 yr. old Zuko sighs in frustration, releasing his fighting stance; Iroh comes over and places a hand on Zuko's shoulder, knowing how unfun this must be for a 4 yr old.

" Don't worry, nephew, you will get it soon enough." Zuko stares absentmindedly at the floor while Azula smirks at his inability to learn as fast as her. " Yeah Zuko, you'll get it one day." Azula remarks sarcastically, making Zuko glare at her. " Azula that was very unnecessary. Zuko is doing the best he can." Iroh takes up for Zuko giving a parenting look towards Azula, only for Azula to shrug it off.

Just as Iroh was going to call for a respite, Fire Lord Ozai comes in with an expectance look on his face. " Alright let's see what you children have learned." Iroh looks over at his brother explaining, " Well I'm not quite sure they're ready for that yet, Ozai." Ozai shakes it off with his usual do everything my way' attitude. " Nonsense. They're fine. Let's see a duel." Ozai remarks clasping his hands together in anticipation, but Iroh tries again to convince him this isn't a good idea. " Ozai, Zuko still needs some practice-" Before he can get another word out Ozai interrupts him. " Enough! I want to see some fighting now." Ozai states very sternly, giving a glare to Iroh as if daring him to say another word.

Iroh knows better than to argue with his stubborn brother; he's known that since they were little toddlers, and shoots Zuko a reassuring glance. Azula gets into her fighting stance just as confident and arrogant as her father would be.

_This is my chance to prove to Father my worthiness... and to show how pathetic Zuko is. This should be fun._ Azula thinks to herself, letting a small smile creep on her face at her thoughts.

_I'm not ready for this, but I can't let Father know that. Besides this is my chance to get back at Azula._ Zuko thinks and gets into his fighting stance looking quite unskilled compared to Azula.

A few seconds go by with constant glaring between the two until Azula finally strikes a punch to Zuko's face knocking him back a few steps; the fight has begun. Iroh watches in somewhat fear knowing that Azula could potentially really hurt Zuko; she already knows how to fire bend where as Zuko is just learning the basics. A few more kicks and punches are thrown, but suddenly something terrible happens. Azula, catching Zuko off guard, bends a blast of fire from her hands and hits Zuko's back, knocking him to the floor.

The pain is unbearable for a person of Zuko's age and he is knocked unconscious, Iroh quickly running to him. Azula smirks in satisfaction of winning the battle, not knowing how seriously she has hurt Zuko. " Call a medic! He has been burned bad." Iroh yells to his brother, who practically ignores it. Azula grows worried at the words 'burned bad'.

_What have I done?_

" He'll be fine." Ozai remarks just as plainly as ever ,and instead of panicking he places a hand on Azula's shoulder, congragulating her. Azula somewhat relaxes, thinking she has done the right thing; she smiles up at her father. " Good work." Iroh grows sick at his brother's behavior.

_How cruel can a human being truly be? I mean I always knew Ozai wasn't the nicest man, but this is his son and he doesn't even care. I guess I'll have to care of poor Zuko._

* * *

Zuko has been taken to one of the medic rooms and has been treated; however he has still not awoken from his unconsciousness. Iroh is the only one in the room at the time; he peers down at his nephew with tears glazed over his eyes like rain over a window.

_My poor nephew. This is all Ozai's fault; he just had to have a duel._

He finally lets his tear escape its prison and roll down his cheek as he peer over his nephew. _Dammit! If Zuko never wakes up or dies I'll kill him! _

Just then he hears a door open and Fire Lady Ursa comes in already looking quite emotional, but when she spots Zuko those emotions pour out like water into a glass. "Lady Ursa." Iroh calls to her, quickly comforting her. She lets out a broken up cry slash yelp. " What happened, Iroh?" She manages to get out, the tears streaking her face. "It was Ozai."

Just at the mention of his name, Ursa's hands clench tightly together with anger. "He wanted a duel, and that's exactly what he got. During the battle Azula caught Zuko off guard and struck his back with fire." Her eyes widen with horror and surprise as she places a hand over her opened mouth. "The doctors have done all they can, but they are unsure if Zuko is going to make it."

A few seconds of silence-except for the sniffing-pass as Ursa takes it all in. " How dare that bastard!" With that said she storms toward the door. " Where are you going?" But it is too late, Ursa is already out the door. Iroh sighs looking over at his unconscious nephew.

* * *

Ursa quietly slips into the palace door, the room just as black as night except for the fire lit up near Ozai. Ozai senses her presence but says nothing as she nears him.

"How fucking dare you make Zuko duel Azula. You know she is older and more experienced." Ozai smiles to himself, slowly turning around from his chair to face Ursa, who has anger written all over her face. "I wanted to see if Zuko was really as pathetic as I thought he was, and he proved me right." Ursa couldn't take it anymore and let her anger come out through a slap across the face. It went so fast she couldn't have stopped; all she could do was stare in shock and horror at what she just did.

_What have I done? There's no telling what Ozai will do to me now._

The next few seconds of shocked silence are the scariest moments of Ursa's life; her heart is practically thumping out of her chest and she can feel cold tingling feeling radiating down her spine as she waits for Ozai's next move. She thinks about running, but knows he will just catch her. After what seemed like a century Ozai reacts by slapping her face so hard she falls to the ground.

It was definitely the most painful slap she had ever experienced in her life and the stinging afterfect wasn't helping either. All she can do is lie there and hope he would have mercy on her, which she knew he wouldn't have. He is a cruel man; at least he has been lately. Nobody really knows why; he will never talk about it.

Ozai does the expected for a cruel man and lashes out at Ursa, throwing kicks and fire blasts burning her arm. She cries out in pain as if that would help her, but of course it doesn't. Ursa lies there just as limp and weak as she could imagine as the tears spill over. Ozai bends down so he can look her directly in the eyes, the anger and rage evident in his eyes. You'd have to be blind to not be completely horrified by his death stare.

"Don't think because you're the Fire Lady you can just walk in her and do and say what you want. I don't need you to rule, and you're not going to stop the way I treat Zuko. It's for his own good if you ever want him to be a strong ruler one day because right now he's not fit to be a soldier." Though she could barely hear, she understood every word and didn't dare to speak a word as she neared a blackout.

Just then, a guard comes running in, hearing the noise. Ozai looks up at him as he speaks, "Is everything alright sir?" He asks somewhat nervously hoping he hadn't angered the Fire Lord. Ozai stands up while Ursa can no longer hear or see anything; she has blacked out. "Take her down to the cell. I'm going to teach her a lesson." As if he hasn't already. The guard nods going to her, carefully picking her up, and exiting as quickly as possidbe. Ozai watches until the door closes leaving him in the darkness once more.

* * *

The door creaks open, but Zuko can not hear it; he is still unconscious. The person who enters would definitely be unexpected to come and see Zuko. She slowly walks over to him, scared to see how badly she had really hurt him-yes it's Azula.

"Zuko." She whispers. No answer. No, he can't be unconscious. "Zuko."she says louder this time as she shakes him. Water starts to well up in her eyes as she realizes the truth.

_I did really hurt him._

She buries her head in her folded arms as she lets the water flow from her eyes. Azula and Zuko have always been taught never to show weakness in any kind of way; tears were definitely on the top part of the list of weaknesses, but Azula couldn't help it. Sure she had always teased Zuko and made his life a living hell even for a 4 yr old, but she did love him, believe it or not. Now she might never see him again.

Out of nowhere, the door opens once more and this time the Fire Lord walks in. "Azula, what are you doing?"he asks somewhat harshly.

_Oh no, I can't let Father see me like this._

She hastenedly tries to wipe the tears from her face, but she knows her face must be red by now and Ozai will definitely find out. She feels defeated, but keeps her head in her arms. He steps closer to her, annoyed she hadn't answered her. "I asked what are you doing?!" Ozai yanks her arms away and turns her around to face him. The instance he sees her pleading tear stained face he grows angry again. "What have I told you about showing weakness." Azula wants to cry more, but she holds it in. "I'm sorry Father but I couldn't help it. It's my fault Zuko's unconscious." "I said he would be fine, didn't I?" She nods. "Well you know the punishment for showing weakness. Come with me."

Azula nods accepting her fate. What a shame; she didn't even get to say sorry.

A/N: I know it takes forever for me to update, but I'm always busy. Plus I'm writing 3 other stories. Btw Azula is six right now incase you forgot she is two years older in this story.


	3. I Have to Get Out

I stare at the stone, cold, dark-everything is dark until the door opens every once in a while to reveal light-floor in a daze; _what have I gotten myself into? And my poor Zuko; what did he do to deserve that? _

A few seconds go by of me straining to see anything interesting that might distract me from the fact I'm stuck in this stupid cell.

_I am so hungry;_ they bring me very little portions of horrible leftovers three times a day. _I guess the bastard cares about me enough to let me live...so he can torture me. Ugggh! Dammit, I'm his wife, how can he treat me this way. I may have been forced to marry him but back in those days he wasn't so cruel. What made him change? _I grip the bars and peer out at the nothingness as I have been doing for the last 3 days. _I have to get out of here; this punishment is simply unbearable and I don't deserve this_.

Creak! Light shines brightly in my eyes and I have to shield them with my hands.

_Yes! Some food...even though it tastes horrible it's all I have._

Once I remove my hands I hear the loud thumping of boots approaching closer and strangely it doesn't seem as though they have food.

_Who could this be? _

" You know, I don't like punishing you... or my children, but it is the only way you will learn." That voice is unmistakable and only angers me but I say nothing, knowing the possible consequences could be worse then this. I suppose hearing no response angers him by what he says next. "You will not try to correct my methods of discipline for my children. That's what got you here in the first place, and if you do it again you will be banished."

I nod obediently even though he probably can't see me. "Well you only have four more days in here and you will be released... if you behave yourself."

_He says four days like they are nothing to bear, like it's only four more minutes-he is such a joke. I have to get out of here and I'll take my children with me, even though Azula has been thoroughly corrupted by Ozai_.

"I'm beginning to question why I married you in the first place." I could say the same thing. " You don't share my same ideas or discipline methods. You're weak beyond description." I can feel his eyes boring into mine but I know better than to respond. He snickers in disgust and anger, now starting to walk away. "Enjoy your stay." With that said the door slams shut and it is back to me and the darkness again.

_I will get out of here...tonight._

_I am so sore_.

I rub my aching body. The beating hurted alot. I look around at the dark walls.

_I used to be scared o the dark, until I was taught there was no reason to be scared and I would be beaten if I showed fear. I hate getting beaten, but Father says it is necessary to learn and if I ever wanted to become leader. He doesn't have much hope for my brother. Well, I can't really blame him, Zuko is a little weakling, but still... sometimes I wish he would be a little nicer to him. I mean he tries he's just no where near as good as me. I know I'm not supposed to show sipathy but it's hard not to. Besides it was my fault he got burned and I feel really bad...and I wish...I feel water coming in my eyes and quickly wipe them. No! I will never cry againn; I will not show weakness. I will not be like Zuko, but I still should say sorry. That would be the honorble thing wouldn't it._

I stand wanting to stretch my legs and look around the room for the kajillionth time. A few seconds go by of me staring at the walls goes by once again.

_I gotta get out of here or I'm gonna to go crazy!_

The sun soon lowers below the horizon and the moon arises into the sky as a source of light to replace the sun. It is night and there is only one thing on Ursa's mind...escape. The door opens to Ursa's cell and incomes another food delivery. Ursa gets ready to execute her plan with a look of determination that is indescribable; you would just have to see it yourself.

The guard nonchalantly lays the dish of food on the floor completely oblivious to the fact he is part of Ursa's plan. "Thanks, but I have another request." "And I don't give a damn." This slightly angers Ursa. "Well I do!" At the moment she says this she blasts out a gust of fire, totally catching him off guard. The guard lets go of the keys to attend to his newly burned skin allowing a yelp to be released. Ursa reaches for the keys, soon finding them and unlocking the gate.

After doing this she shoves the guard into the cell and locks it not giving a rat's ass about the serious pain he is enduring right now. She opens the door slowly peering from right to left through the hallway; it appears to be clear. She skillfully walks down the hallway avoiding as much noise as possible.

"I want out of here!" Ursa hears a yell and some banging from one of the nearby cell doors. These cells had one tiny room for prisoners or anyone who needed to be punished. Ursa recognizes the voice as her daughter. "Azula."she almost whispers. Azula peers out the window soon seing her mother. "Mom." "Yea it's me." Ursa responds, looking for the right key to open the door. "What are you doing in here?" It takes a minute for Azula to responds. "I cried."

Ursa didn't quite understand her answer at first but then realized how cruel her husband was with his little rules. Children need love and care, not this. "It's okay, honey. I'm getting you out of here." Ursa finally finds the right keys and unlocks the door making quite a bit of noise; fortunately nobody seemed to hear her. Ursa scoops her daughter into a hug, which kind of disturbs Azula. She was taught not to like hugs, and since she rarely got them it felt kind of awkward but at the same time it comforted her.

After a few seconds her mom finally lets her go and they both are able to see the bruises on each other's bodies.

_He hurt mommy. I wonder what she did_, Azula wonders but doesn't ask aloud.

The looks on each other's faces were quite shocked and horrified especially Ursa. She reaches out to touch her daughter's arms, but Azula pulls her hand away on contact. "Don't. I'm okay." Ursa is a bit taken back by this, but says nothing. After a second of sadly looking at her daughter she realizes she has to get Zuko so they can leave once for a while. "Come on." Ursa says starting to walk down the dimly lit hallway, Azula soon following her. "Where are we going?" "To get Zuko and then get out of here." Azula never thought about escape; she knew it would result in punishment so she didn't let it creep into her mind.

Somehow they managed to evade all guards and made it into Zuko's room. Azula knew better than to show weakness but she couldn't stop the feeling of suspense or fear on the way as they almost got caught twice. Zuko is in his bed sleeping ever so peaceful, not able to wake up for he is still unconscious. Ursa goes over to her son lost in grief until Azula speaks.

"If we take him, who will take care of him?" Her mom looks at her. "I know some family members that can help him." Azula remembers the family members she met. A bunch of snobs that never cared for her, except one. That was her aunt Silia; she loved Azula greatly, almost as much as her mother would. "Do I know them?" She shook her head. "Your father felt they were below him so you guys never got to meet them. But when we get out of here you will."

She starts unhooking the cords hooked up to Zuko carefully. "Besides it's not like they're doing a lot of good for him now." Azula takes a good look at her brother, the feeling of guilt rising in her once more. "I wish I could say sorry and he'd hear it." Ursa wasn't sure that Azula had even felt any sorrow for her brother, because of Ozai's weakness rules. This surprised her a little bit, especially since she's always picking on him too. She places her hand on the young fire bender's head, lightly stroking her hair; this is another touch Azula is not used to, but she allows it slowly starting to enjoy these motherly touches. However she is careful not to show weakness. "I know you do, sweety." That word almost made Azula's skin flinch; those kind of words were a sign of weakness but she tries to ignore it. "But Zuko will be alright. I promise." she accentuates her comment with a dedicating smile, making Azula slightly smile too. All of a sudden there is a sound of the door opening and both of their blood runs cold with fear as they wait for the door to reveal who it is. It is too late to hide. If they get Zuko up and run out the window there will be no time. Who could this be?

A/N: Yes, first cliff hanger. I wonder who could be at the door.


End file.
